Back from the brink: Taiwan's Lu Wei-chih on road to recovery at Hong Kong Open after battling brain tumour
The 36-year-old is the early leader at Fanling after hardly being able to lift a club not long ago
There were times after his brain surgery when Lu Wei-chih doubted he’d ever be able to finish a round of golf again - let alone see his name up there at the top of a leaderboard.
“I wasn't quite sure how much longer I would last [playing],” revealed the 36-year-old on Thursday, as he shot a six-under 64 to take the early clubhouse lead in the opening round of the US$2 million UBS Hong Kong Open.
“I pretty much lost all my confidence and trust because I had no power and I didn't think I could play anymore.”
It’s been a long road back to full fitness for Lu after an operation to remove a non-malignant brain tumour in 2012, but his form and his fitness are slowly returning, as evidenced by his display at Fanling
Lu took time after his round to share some emotional reflections on how far he had come since surgery put a stop to his career that the Taiwanese player feared might become permanent.
“I had to rest for over six months, and then finally, I started playing a little bit on the Taiwan Tour,” said Lu.
“I could barely play up to [holes] 14 or 15 and then over the last three holes, I didn’t think I could even walk. I just lost all my physical ability, and also, because of the surgery, my weight went up to 93kg. My metabolism changed and I lost a lot of power.”
I just had to tell myself that I wanted to be a real golfer again and compete on Tour
Lu had won three times on the Asian Tour by the end of 2011, and had twice represented his country in the World Cup, before the tumour was diagnosed and then removed.
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Doctors told him afterwards that there would be “no quick fix” when it came to the process of recovery - “No pill that can really make it quicker,” said Lu.
“[They said] it's going to take a long time to recover physically and I just had to be patient,” he said.
Support from his wife and two young children was vital as the hard work began, said Lu.
“They kept supporting me, and I just had to tell myself that I wanted to be a real golfer again and compete on Tour,” said Lu.
He has started to do that more regularly now. Lu had managed eight tournaments before coming to Fanling, with a best finish of 16th at the Mercuries Taiwan Masters at the start of the month.
Lu had shown flashes of his very best form here last year, too. An opening-round 66 had him tied for second and he went on to finish the event tied for 12th behind winner Scott Hend.
Liu joined the Asian Tour in 2004 and said the organisation had helped him ease his way back into the game.
“About a year after my surgery, I started talking to the Asian Tour and they gave me the opportunity to get back and play some events,” said Lu. “Finally, I started coming back mentally and physically.”
The Taiwanese player said he had developed an affinity for the Hong Kong Golf Club layout and he was looking forward to now going out and building on his opening-day effort.
“For the last two years, I could only play two events and then had to rest,” he said.
“But this is my sixth week, so this is very much a challenge for me - the longest stretch since my surgery.
